The immediate effects of lavender-based essential oil inhalation on subsequent polysomnography in people with poor sleep quality.

BACKGROUND: Although aromatherapy is considered an adjuvant therapy to promote sleep quality, few objective sleep testing instruments can confirm the effects of aromatherapy on sleep physiology. The purpose of this study was to confirm and compare the immediate effects of a single lavender essential oil (SLEO) group to a complex lavender essential oil (CLEO) group by objective polysomnography (PSG) recordings. METHODS: Participants were randomly divided into the SLEO group and CLEO group in this single-blind trial to explore the sleep effect of essential oil aroma. All the participants completed the sleep-related questionnaires and underwent two consecutive nights of PSG recordings, who had one night without aromatherapy and one night with one of the two aromas randomly assigned to them. RESULTS: Total of 53 participants were recruited for this study, 25 participants were in the SLEO group, and 28 were in the CLEO group. Baseline characteristics and sleep-related questionnaires were similar in both groups. Both SLEO and CLEO extended the total sleep time (TST) (Δ = 43.42 and 23.75 minutes, respectively) and sleep period time (SPT) (Δ = 38.86 and 24.07 minutes, respectively). The SLEO group further improved sleep efficiency and increased the amounts of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and decreased spontaneous arousals. However, there was no significant difference in PSG parameters between the SLEO and CLEO groups. CONCLUSION: Both SLEO and CLEO extended TST and SPT, with no significant differences between these two groups. These results warrant practical applications and merit future studies (Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT03933553).

The Relationship between Medical Staff's Emotional Labor, Leisure Coping Strategies, Workplace Spirituality, and Organizational Commitment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Many medical issues have gradually emerged under the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not only changed the medical culture but also tested medical staffs' response abilities, emotional pressure, sense of identity, and belonging to the organization. The relationships among medical staffs' emotional labor, leisure coping strategies, workplace spirituality, and organizational commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic are explored in this study. With medical staffs as the research subjects, a questionnaire survey was conducted using convenience sampling; a total of 360 questionnaires were distributed and 330 were returned, for a recovery rate of 91%. There were 300 valid questionnaires after 30 invalid questionnaires were excluded, for an effective recovery rate of 90%. SPSS and AMOS software were used for statistical analysis. According to the research results: (1) emotional labor had a significant effect on workplace spirituality, (2) workplace spirituality had a significant impact on organizational commitment, (3) emotional labor had a negative and significant impact on organizational commitment, (4) emotional labor had a significant impact on leisure coping strategies, and (5) the mediating effect of workplace spirituality between emotional labor and organizational commitment was not significant. Finally, relevant practical suggestions are provided based on the results of this study.

Long COVID and long chain fatty acids (LCFAs): Psychoneuroimmunity implication of omega-3 LCFAs in delayed consequences of COVID-19.

The global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to the lasting pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the post-acute phase sequelae of heterogeneous negative impacts in multiple systems known as the "long COVID." The mechanisms of neuropsychiatric complications of long COVID are multifactorial, including long-term tissue damages from direct CNS viral involvement, unresolved systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, maladaptation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and coagulation system, dysregulated immunity, the dysfunction of neurotransmitters and hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis, and the psychosocial stress imposed by societal changes in response to this pandemic. The strength of safety, well-acceptance, and accumulating scientific evidence has now afforded nutritional medicine a place in the mainstream of neuropsychiatric intervention and prophylaxis. Long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 or n-3 PUFAs) might have favorable effects on immunity, inflammation, oxidative stress and psychoneuroimmunity at different stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Omega-3 PUFAs, particularly EPA, have shown effects in treating mood and neurocognitive disorders by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, altering the HPA axis, and modulating neurotransmission via lipid rafts. In addition, omega-3 PUFAs and their metabolites, including specialized pro-resolvin mediators, accelerate the process of cleansing chronic inflammation and restoring tissue homeostasis, and therefore offer a promising strategy for Long COVID. In this article, we explore in a systematic review the putative molecular mechanisms by which omega-3 PUFAs and their metabolites counteract the negative effects of long COVID on the brain, behavior, and immunity.

The effect of bright light therapy in migraine patients with sleep disturbance: A prospective, observational cohort study protocol.

Background: Migraine is a common disabling disorder, and its substantial burden is associated with a considerable negative impact on the patients' quality of life. Moreover, aging patients with migraine have more cognitive complaints. Additionally, the elderly are more likely to have sleep disturbances, which may also predict the risk of incident dementia. Migraines are reported to be closely associated with sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep disturbance is a well-known trigger for migraine episodes; moreover, shift work or jet lag reportedly triggers some migraines. The hypothalamus is thought to be the migraine generator; sleep and circadian activity rhythm are also controlled by the hypothalamus. Evidence suggests an influence of both sleep and circadian system on migraine. Previously, light therapy has been show to stabilize sleep architecture and further improve insomnia related to circadian rhythm disorders. However, the beneficial effect of light therapy on migraine with sleep disturbance has not yet been determined. We aim to explore the effects of light therapy for migraine combined with sleep disturbance. Methods and analysis: This project is a 2-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study design includes a 4-week monitoring period (baseline and pretest), a 4-week treatment period, and a posttest. The study participants will undergo assessments on headache frequency and severity and subjective and objective (wrist actigraphy and polysomnography) sleep disturbances, and quality of life and a series of blood tests for serum biomarkers. Discussion: This study will establish evidence-based alternative medicine for the preventive effect of bright light therapy in migraine patients with sleep disturbances. Moreover, our data will be useful to comprehend the biochemical mechanism of light therapy in migraine prevention.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT04890691.

Evidence of Potential Mechanisms of Acupuncture from Functional MRI Data for Migraine Prophylaxis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize the clinical neuroimaging evidence pertaining to the potential mechanisms of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. RECENT FINDINGS: From a descriptive perspective, converging evidence from recent neuroimaging studies, mainly from functional MRI (fMRI) studies, has demonstrated that when compared with sham acupuncture, verum acupuncture could normalize the decrease of the functional connectivity of the rostral ventromedial medulla-trigeminocervical complex (RVM/TCC) network, frontal-parietal network, cingulo-opercular networks, and default mode network and could normalize sensorimotor network connectivity with sensory-, affective-, and cognitive-related brain areas. These areas overlap with those of the pain matrix. Verum acupuncture works in a more targeted and unique manner compared with sham acupuncture in patients with migraine. These findings from neuroimaging studies may provide new perspectives on the validation of acupoints specificity and confirm the central modulating effects of acupuncture as a migraine prevention treatment. However, the exact mechanism by which acupuncture works for migraine prophylaxis remains unclear and warrants investigation. Future studies with larger sample sizes are still needed to confirm the current results and to further evaluate the complex and specific effects of acupuncture by analyzing different stimulus conditions, such as verum vs. sham acupuncture, deqi vs. no deqi, different acupuncture points or meridians, and different manipulation methods. Moreover, instead of focusing on the changes in a single area of the brain, researchers should focus more on the relationships among the functional connectivity network of brain areas such as the RVM/TCC, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), superior temporal gyrus (STG), and supplementary motor area (SMA) to explore the underlying mechanism of the effects of acupuncture.